It's disgraceful that Democratic leaders in Annapolis refuse to vote on legislation that would ban discrimination against transgender Marylanders.  Sadly, not all Democrats subscribe to the 2008 Party Platform, which states: "Democrats will fight to end discrimination based on race, sex, ethnicity, national origin, language, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, and disability in every corner of our country, because that’s the America we believe in." 

Equality Maryland knows that Democrat is not synonymous with pro-equality.  Our organization will not stop holding the Democratic Party in Maryland, with its super-majorities in the House and Senate, accountable for its failure to live up to its tenets.  We will work until all Marylanders are free from discrimination in housing, employment, and public accomodations. 

Thankfully, Equality Maryland is joined by a large number of legislators who pledge the same.  More than 1/3 of the General Assembly co-sponsored the transgender anti-discrimination bills during the 2009 legislative session.  Please thank these legislators for standing up for the LGBT community.

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

As a constituent and a member of Equality Maryland, I was thrilled to see on this year's 2009 Scorecard that you were a co-sponsor of legislation to ban discrimination against transgender Marylanders.

Thank you for living up to the tenets of the 2008 Democratic Party Platform, which states: "Democrats will fight to end discrimination based on race, sex, ethnicity, national origin, language, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, and disability in every corner of our country, because that's the America we believe in."

It's sad to think that such discrimination needs to be addressed through legislation. But transgender people, their family, and their friends are all too familiar with the unwarranted prejudice and bias that confronts individuals who defy gender expectations. Transgender people experience alarmingly high rates of unemployment, poverty and homelessness.

It's disgraceful that Democratic leaders in Annapolis refuse to vote on legislation that would ban discrimination against transgender Marylanders. Please continue to push them to allow passage of gender identity anti-discrimination legislation.

Thank you, again, for your leadership on this common sense issue!

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
June 18, 2009